STELLAR TSENG CAPTURES WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN, BECOMES YOUNGEST TO WIN FIVE MAJOR CROWNS

YANI TSENG

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – Judging by the record books, Yani Tseng is 10 years ahead of Annika Sorenstam.

The 22-year-old Taiwanese won the Women's British Open for the second straight year Sunday, beating Brittany Lang by four strokes and becoming the youngest player – male or female – to capture a fifth major title.

Sorenstam was 32 when she won the 2003 LPGA Championship for her fifth major. Tiger Woods was 24 when he won his fifth at the 2000 PGA Championship.

"It's so great making history on this golf course, and I feel wonderful right now," said Tseng, who is ranked No. 1 and won the LPGA Championship last month. "I hope to keep winning. Next year there are another four majors and I will try and organize and keep working hard."

Tseng became only the third player to win consecutive British titles, joining Sherri Steinhaurer (1998, 1999) and Debbie Massey (1980, 1981).

Tseng shot a 3-under 69 to finish at 16-under 272. She trailed third-round leader Caroline Masson of Germany by two strokes entering the final round. Masson closed with a 78 and tied for fifth.

"I wish to win more, but I am really happy," Tseng said. "I think in my mind I say, wow, five-times major. I never think about that. It just feels really very special."

Lang shot a 67 to finish at 276, one ahead of Sweden's Sophie Gustafson (68). South Korea's Amy Yang (67) was fourth.

Lang was tied for sixth entering the final day, eight behind Masson. She picked up one stroke by the turn but the American bagged four birdies at Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 17.

"I made some really big par putts early on, and from then on played fairly flawless golf," Lang said.

Tseng dropped a shot at the first hole with three putts, missing a 3-footer for par. She birdied the third with a pitching wedge to 2 feet and the long sixth with a chip to 5 feet.

By the turn, she was in command. She was just short of the green off the tee at the par-4 11th and took two putts for a birdie, then dropped a shot at two straight holes. She hit an 8-iron over the back of the green at 12 and then hit the pin off the tee on the short 13th but her ball stopped at the edge of a bunker. She stood in the sand to play her second shot.

Tseng birdied the long 14th and finished with two birdies, holing from 20 feet on the 17th and hitting a majestic 9-iron to 3 feet at the last.

"I was a little nervous before the start, but then I hit a good tee shot and I felt good," Tseng said. "I feel that, having been in this position in a major a few times before, I am getting more mature and can handle the pressure better."

Masson dropped four shots in the first three holes of her closing nine. She finished at 9 under with local favorite Catriona Matthew, the 2009 champion, who had a double-bogey 6 on the final hole.

Sweden's Anna Nordqvist tied for seventh at 280 with South Koreans Sun Young Yoo, Na Yeon Choi and Inbee Pak. American Stacy Lewis had a 68 to rally to a 281.

Sweden's Maria Hjorth was at 282 after a 68 and Americans Katie Futcher and Cristie Kerr were in a group a stroke further back. Futcher equaled the best round of the week with a 64, including an eagle at the 14th, followed by three birdies. Kerr had four birdies for a 68 to finish at 5 under.

Paula Creamer dropped five strokes in the first five holes to be out in 40, then dropped three more on the back nine for a 79. Brittany Lincicome shot 73 to finish at 287 as did first-round leader Meena Lee, who closed with a 74 after opening with a 65 Thursday.

- Story courtesy of The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

TSENG SETS RECORD EN ROUTE TO MAJOR CROWN

YANI TSENG

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Yani Tseng wasn't satisfied with merely winning the LPGA Championship and, at 22, becoming the youngest to win four LPGA majors.

Once she made the turn with a 10-stroke lead Sunday, the best female player in the world set her sights on making a little more history.

"I was like, what's a new goal for me?" Tseng said. "And that's why I told myself I wanted to set a record, to make 20 under."

She missed by one stroke in what was the only minor blemish in one of the most dominating performances to date from Tseng.

In closing with a 6-under 66 to finish at 19-under 269 at Locust Hill Country Club, Tseng matched the LPGA record low at a major, most recently by Cristie Kerr a year ago when she shot the same score to win the tournament by 12 strokes. Dottie Pepper (1999 Kraft Nabisco) and Karen Stupples (2004 Women's British Open) also finished at 19 under.

There is one mark Tseng can claim as her own by bettering Se Ri Pak, who was 24 when she won her fourth major. By comparison, Tiger Woods didn't win his fourth until he was 24. And Tseng's well ahead of her idol, Annika Sorenstam, who was 24 when she won the first of her 10 majors - the 1995 U.S. Women's Open.

"It's very special," Tseng said. "Now I'm thinking about a grand slam."

It's one step at a time for the top-ranked Tseng, who won her second LPGA Championship and has won three of the tour's last six majors. The only major she's missing is the U.S. Women's Open title, which she'll have an opportunity to complete her career slam in two weeks at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Morgan Pressel (71) finished second. Kerr (69), Suzann Pettersen (67) and Paula Creamer (69) tied for third at 8 under.

"Pretty unbelievable," said Kerr, who rallied late with a birdie on No. 16 and an eagle on 17. "Yani's doing what I did last year. Obviously, it's hard to beat. I'm not surprised. Yani's a great player."

Pressel initially thought she'd have an outside chance to catch Tseng before the final round began. Pressel dropped that hope once she dropped a shot with a bogey on No. 2.

"It's definitely a dominating performance," Pressel said. "She didn't make many mistakes out there."

Tseng didn't, in claiming $375,000 at the $2.5 million event. Wearing a smile for much of the day, Tseng raised her arms and tipped her hat as she was greeted by the gallery upon arriving at the 18th green.

After a bogey on No. 1, which she chalked up to nerves, Tseng reeled off five birdies on her next seven holes to run away from the field. Tseng added three more birdies on the back nine, while bogeying 13, and had a chance to get to 20, before missing a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18.

"The birdie on No. 2, it felt like a turning point for me because I bogeyed the first hole," Tseng said. "It was huge for me."

Tseng went wire-to-wire as the tournament leader after opening with rounds of 66, 70 and 67. In holding one-shot leads after each of the first two rounds, Tseng began running away from the field on Saturday in building a five-shot edge.

Tseng finished with 27 birdies, six bogeys and a double bogey. She hit 38 of 56 fairways and 57 of 72 greens in regulation.

No one else was close. Tseng's playing partner, Cindy LaCrosse, unraveled. She was 5 over on Sunday to tumble into 14th.

Pettersen had the best round among those at the top of the leaderboard, getting to 9 under for the tournament before a bogey on No. 18.

"I think I started too late in this tournament," Pettersen said, while also acknowledging Tseng's performance. "You take her out of consideration and I think the rest of us were fighting for second and third."

For the star from Taiwan, it was her eighth career LPGA Tour victory, second in a row and third of the season. She has three other victories this year, sweeping the Australian Open and Masters and winning in Taiwan.

With four majors, she moved into a tie for 15th among women with four majors, joining a group of six others, including Laura Davies and Meg Mallon.

"She's only 22," Kerr said, noting she played with Tseng in South Korea about seven years ago. "We knew she was going to be good. I didn't know she would be this good. She is pretty dang good."

Tseng is good friends with Sorenstam, and even bought the retired star's home in Florida two years ago.

Sorenstam paid tribute, calling Tseng "The new face of the LPGA," in a phone interview with Golf Channel during the final round.

Tseng noted she received a text from Sorenstam earlier in the day.

"She texted me, 'Great playing. Bring the trophy home,'" Tseng said. "I was smiling, saying, `Yeah, I will."


- Story by The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images

TSENG STRETCHES LEAD AT LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP

YANI TSENG

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Yani Tseng extended her lead at the LPGA Championship on Saturday, putting the 22-year-old star a round away from winning her fourth major title.

The top-ranked Tseng shot a 5-under 67 to extend her lead to five strokes at 13-under 203 after the third round at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester.

American Morgan Pressel (70) and Cindy LaCrosse (69) were tied for second, and Hee Young Park (72) was seven shots behind Tseng. Defending champion Cristie Kerr matched Tseng with a third-round best 67 to join Stacy Lewis (70), Meena Lee (70) and Paula Creamer at 5 under.

Tseng, who turned 22 in January, was a round away from becoming the youngest to win four major golf tournaments. She also won LPGA Championship during her rookie-of-the-year season in 2008, when the event was played at Bulle Rock in Maryland, and took the Kraft Nabisco and Women's British Open last year.

Tiger Woods and Se Ri Pak were 24 when they won their fourth majors.

Tseng has seven career LPGA Tour wins, and has already won twice this year, including the State Farm Classic two weeks ago. She also has three international victories this year, sweeping the Women's Australian Open and Australian Ladies Masters.

She also finished second at the Kraft Nabisco Championship in April, losing to Lewis after taking a two-shot lead into the final round. It was a tournament in which Tseng might have jinxed herself by grabbing the championship trophy as she stepped to the first tee upon opening the final round.

Acknowledging that she's learned her lesson, Tseng joked that she has no intention of coming anywhere near the LPGA trophy before the final round is over Sunday.

There was little she did wrong Saturday, in a round played under overcast conditions for much of the afternoon. Intermittent rain over the past couple days softened the greens, but the wind picked up in the afternoon making it difficult to navigate the tight fairways and reach the small greens.

A day after she twice missed from within 3 feet, including an 18-incher for bogey on No. 18, Tseng was more consistent with her putting.

On Saturday, she sank a 6-foot putt for birdie on No. 9, and then scrambled to save par with a pair of 4-footers on Nos. 10 and 11. Then came a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 12th and a 14-footer on No. 13 to go to 12 under for the tournament, and extend her lead by five shots at that time.

Her only real miscue was an errant tee-shot into the left rough on No. 14 that led to a bogey 5. Tseng responded on the next hole, with a 4-foot putt for birdie. She also birdied Nos. 2 and 15 and 17.
No one else could make up any ground.

LaCrosse scrambled to shoot 3 under in a round that featured six birdies and three bogeys. In her second year on tour, her best career finish was a tie for 11th at the Shop Rite Classic three weeks ago.

At Louisville, she was a two-time Big East champion. And she also won three times on the Futures Tour.

"My game plan's kind of the same. I'm still trying to hit the fairways and greens," said LaCrosse, who will be paired with Tseng in the final round. "You never know what (Tseng) is going to do. She's an amazing player. I just kind of have to focus on what I'm going to do."

Pressel is still in the hunt in seeking her third career win and first since 2008.

Kerr appeared to finally shake off the flu bug that was bothering her this week.

Making the turn at 1 under on Saturday, she birdied four of her final nine holes, including 17 and 18.

"I scrambled my rear off," Kerr said of her first nine, which included 15-foot par-saving putt on the par-3 fifth hole. "I'm just proud of myself for the way I hung in there today and gave myself a chance to shoot a good score to get back in it."

Kerr isn't counting herself out after she ran away with the tournament last year in finishing with a 19-under 269 to win by a whopping 12 strokes.

"I think I will be within striking distance, but I would have to put up another round like this tomorrow," she said. "If I can hit a lot of greens, then I'll have a chance."

Pat Hurst, who opened the day in second, shot a 75 to drop into a tie for ninth.

- Story by The Associated Press/Photo courtesy of Getty Images